Brad Barbour passes away at 61

Sunday

Brad Barbour, who built a press box at Douglas Byrd High School to honor a coach, and who built a baseball field at the same school to give athletes a place they were proud to play, has died.

Mr. Barbour died early Friday morning at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center after a prolonged illness. He was 61.

Jernigan-Warren Funeral Home is handling the arrangements. Visitation will be held Sunday from 6 until 8 p.m. at the funeral home. Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Camp Ground United Methodist Church.

Mr. Barbour was a non-faculty coach at Byrd, heading the baseball program while working as a salesman for Clark’s Sporting Goods. He also coached baseball briefly at Seventy-First.

His involvement in the Byrd athletic program ran deep.

For years, he and wife Melissa headed the Byrd booster club. He led the drive to build a new press box at the school unlike any other in the county, which included guest suites for the wives of the coaches and the Byrd administration, along with storage space. But his masterpiece was the Byrd baseball field, which was named in his honor earlier this year.

Former Byrd football coach Bob Paroli, for whom the Eagle football stadium is named, first met Mr. Barbour when Paroli came to the school in 1980.

“He ramrodded the construction of that press box and the naming of the stadium,” Paroli said. “Without Brad and Melissa, that wouldn’t have happened’’

Mr. Barbour spent 25 years working with a local uniform rental company, but most recently was a salesman for Clark’s Sporting Goods. In the latter role, Paroli said Mr. Barbour was a special friend of coaches.

“Whatever you needed, if he didn’t have it, it was there within a day,’’ Paroli said. “If he did have it, it was there within an hour. That was the only way he knew how to do business.’’

Steve Driggers, color commentator for the Mid-South Sports, Inc., radio crew, was a co-worker with Mr. Barbour for four years at Clark’s. He and his wife Patty also got to know the Barbours because of Patty’s work as a teacher at Byrd.

“He was as honest and straightforward as the day is long,’’ Driggers said. “If he told you something, you could take it to the bank that it was the truth.

“I fell in love with the man. His passing last night was not just a loss for the coaching community, but for Clark’s and Cumberland County.’’

American Legion coach

Mr. Barbour coached baseball at the recreation level for years before moving up to American Legion and heading the program for Fayetteville Post 4.

Jeff Nance, head baseball coach at Gray’s Creek High, choked back tears as he talked of his association with Mr. Barbour from the Legion days, with him at Douglas Byrd and against him after moving to Gray’s Creek.

Nance remembered the early years of the field at Byrd when it had no grass and no lights.

“He just basically built that field into what it is,’’ Nance said. “He enjoyed watching you run out there and being proud of such a nice facility.

“I think he always felt you played better if you looked good and felt better about what you were playing in.’’

Nance said Mr. Barbour was a father figure to many, including former Byrd football standout Willie Gilchrist, an all-state selection who played on some of the best Eagle teams in the 1990s.

Mr. Barbour and his family welcomed Gilchrist into their home at a time when Gilchrist was dealing with a difficult family situation. Gilchrist is now a veteran of 13 years in the U.S. Army, currently serving as a staff sergeant in supply at Fort Jackson in South Carolina.

“I just loved the care and discipline he instilled in me,’’ said Gilchrist. “At the time, I didn’t understand. Now, being an adult, I understand how much he loved and cared about me, and wanted to keep me out of trouble.’’

Byrd athletic director Troy Lindsey said he could talk for days about the contributions Mr. Barbour made to the Eagle athletic program.

“We’ve lost a good father, coach and mentor,’’ Lindsey said. “We’ve lost someone with the utmost character, integrity and compassion.

“There’s just a void in the whole world because he will no longer be with us.’’

Lindsey said the challenge for the school will be to move forward, especially the baseball field, the way Barbour would have.

Mr. Barbour also leaves a legacy in the field of education in the form of his four children. Daughter Jane Fields is executive director of secondary education for the Cumberland County Schools. Daughter Laura Bailey is assistant principal of South Scotland Elementary School in Scotland County. Son Chad is a principal intern at Elizabeth Cashwell Elementary School, and Son Scott teaches health and physical education and is an assistant football coach at St. Pauls High.

“There is a void in the world because Brad will no longer be with us,’’ Lindsey said. “The good Lord sure did upgrade his angels.’’

Scholastic sports editor Earl Vaughan Jr. can be reached at vaughane@fayobserver.com or 486-3519

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